Ten

Raven

The sight of my aunt's white BMW made my heart skip with excitement. My legs sprinted into a run as I dodged a delivery truck driving in with the school's stationery.

Aunt Jaela, my dad's twin, rushed out of the driver's seat skipping towards me with her arms open wide and I flew into her embrace.

She showered my face with kisses and the slightly sharp metallic scent of petroleum hit my nose. No matter how many times my aunt cleaned up, the scent stuck with her even when she was wearing clean clothes.

"My favorite girl," she cooed. "I missed you so much."

"I'm sure you did. I'm kind of a big deal around here you know."

She laughed, her hearty, wholesome laughter, and my eyes caught sight of my little cousin Tommy, sitting in the back seat and bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Where's Nova?" Aunt J asked, searching around and squinting to catch her from a distance.

"She couldn't join us. She's preparing the yearbook. You know she's the head of the editorial team."